Celebrating Your Efforts in Guatemala

Thanks to all of you who have responded to Deborah Chandler's suggestions for helping the Guatemalan weavers affected by the recent flooding and volcanic eruptions.

To celebrate your good works, here are a couple of nicely done video links about Guatemalan weaving, created by fair trade-type organizations. The Impact Ministries video tells the story of a Guatemalan man who learned weaving to help earn income after being laid off from another job, but who does not weave in public view because weaving is not considered an acceptable occupation for a man. The weavers in the Aldea Artisans video weave fashion scarves and are funded through microloan programs. Both videos show weavers winding warp, and I hope someone will write us and explain how the warping boards work, because they don't appear to create a cross in the way American and European-trained weavers do.

The National Geographic website has an excellent article on Guatemalan weaving traditions and techniques, and The Women in World History site has an interesting series of short essays by Guatemalan weavers, part of a whole "Spindle Stories" curriculum unit that they offer for classroom use.